When’s the last time you had your vehicle’s tires rotated? In general, people are either really gung ho about having this done on a regular basis or they’re a bit ignorant, not even realizing that tire rotations are “a thing.”

Bottom line: tire rotation is beneficial for you and your vehicle. Tires never stay in perfect shape, even though they may “look pretty good” to the untrained eye. Over time, there are many things that affect tires, from the way a person drives their vehicle (taking corners in a fast way, starting/stopping abruptly) to the terrain they drive over (gravel, stones, mud). Factor in temperature changes and front-wheel drive, and tires (especially the front ones) are going to show wear-and-tear over time.

By regularly rotating the physical location of your tires, you’re doing your vehicle a favor. It’ll get better fuel economy, using less gas and allowing the engine to run more efficiently. Essentially, the tire rotation means your engine doesn’t have to work so hard– there’s less tire pulling and road friction thanks to tire rotation.

Furthermore, tire rotation extends the life of tires and means you’re less likely to have to pay for an alignment.

In general, most tires should be rotated every 5,000 to 10,000 miles they’re driven. If you have a warranty, it may say in the fine print that the way to keep the warranty valid is to make sure the tires are rotated on a certain basis– check for that. Meanwhile, when mechanics are rotating tires, they’ll be able to give them a closer inspection and see if they’re cracked, punctured, totally worn out, and/or need replacing.

Finally, there’s the safety factor. Like that old commercial said, “You’ve got a lot riding on your tires.” Indeed. You want them to function at their best so there aren’t problems with steering and vehicular control.